Push-button stepping switch



Oct. 12, c. MACNAMARA 2,451,105

PUSH-BUTTON STEPPING SWITCH Filed Dec. 20, 1946 V I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Duel/1m H. c. MACNAMARA 2,451,105

PUSH-BUTTON STEPPING SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Attorney:

Oct. 12, 1948.

Filed Dec. 20. 1946 Patented Oct. 12, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PUSH-BUTTON STEPPING 3WITCH Harold C. Macnamara, Minneapolis, Minn. Application December 20, 1948, Serial No. 717,559

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in pushbutton electrical switchesof the type which is operated to both its 011" and on" position by means of a single reciprocable pushbutton, the primary object of the invention being to provide a simplified, electrically more efllcient, and more easily manufactured switch of this type.

Other important objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description and the drawings appended thereto, wherein for illustration only, an exemplary embodiment of my invention is set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the outer end of a switch constructed in accordance with this invention, showing the same installed in a wall and with the cover plate removed.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through Figure 1 along the line 22, and showing the mechanism in initial or retracted position.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 8-3 of Figure 2. v t

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, showing arms 01 the contactor in full lines engaged with the two contacts of the switch in the on" position thereof. and showing the contactor arms in dotted lines disengaged from said contacts in the off position of the switch.

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the contactor as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional detail of the pawl structure, taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional detail of the switch contacts, taken along the line of Figure 3, and

Figure 9 is a transverse section taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 3.

The example herein chosen to illustrate the present invention is a flush-type wall switch generally designated l0, comprising the preferably metal cylindrical casing ll having upper and lower ears I: and i3. respectively. on its outer end which are traversed by screws or the like It entering the wall lath II or the equivalent for mounting the switch in place on the wall il. Screws l1 hold in place on the outer end of the casing Ii. the vertical support strip II, which has an enlarged annular middle portion il encircling and supporting the pushbutton 2| which extends reciprocably therethrough.

of one l-J The cover plate II, which covers theouter end 0! the casing ii and the support strip II. has a flange 22 to engage the wall I. around the casing and laterally outwardly of the ears l2 and II, as shown in Figure 2. The cover plate is held removably in place by means of two diametrically opposed triangular shaped tongues 23; 23 which enter the outward end of the casing ii at opposite sides of the ring II o! the support strip ll. as shown in Figure 3, and have notches) in their outer straight edges arranged to securably engage lateral projections or lugs 25 on the free ends or laterally inwardly tensioned leaf springs 2! which have their opposite ends, in this instanc their inward ends, riveted or otherwise secured to the sidewall oi the casing II. as indicated at 21. The flat tongues 23. 23 engage through guide slots 2! provided in the insulating material switch body :whereby the tongues are accurately guided into place and whereby with the tongues is engaged with the springs 28, the wall or cover plate ii is securely held in proper position. when installed. and can be quickly and easily removed when desired by drawing it outwardly so as to disengage the tongues 13, 23 from engagement with the projections 25 of the springs II.

The open outer end of the insulated material generally cylindrical switch body 28 is supportably secured in a suitable manner to the support strip II and extends rearwardly within and is concentrically spaced from the sides of the casing ii, and spaced from its closed inward end 2!. a The switch body I! is composed of two similar semi-circular sections 30, ll separably secured together, as shown in Figure 9, by a long bolt 32 traversing the sections through shank recesses 33 located at one side of the rear or inward part or the switch body 20 and by a short bolt 34 passing through shank recesses II at the opposite side of the rear or inward end of the'switch body.

The outer or forward end of the switch body 20 is formed with an axial bore 30 for accommodating the cylindrical reciprocable pushbutton 20. this bore being long enough to permit the necessary inward movement of the pushbutton from the initial or rest position shown in Figures 2 and 3 to operative position. The bore It has an enlargement I1 accommodating a stop flange ll formed on the pushbutton intermediate its ends. A helical expanding spring I! is circumposed on the pushbutton between the stop flange ll and the inner end of the bore enlargement It, so that the pushbutton will normally be pressed outwardly in its rest or ready position.

The inner end of the bore 10 opens into a tioned "that any tially rectangular chamber 40, one wall of which is formed with a socket 4| in which is rotatably confined a relatively large diameter stubshaft" 42 having circumferentially spaced indentations 43 thereon for engagement by a spring pressed ball detent 44 set in a radial socket 44 leading from the wall of the socket 4|, whereby the ratchet wheel 45 which is attached to or integral with the s tubshaft 42- will-be held in cetrain positions of rotationas hereinafter described. A smaller diameter stubshaft '45 on the opposite side of the ratchet wheel 45 isrotatably con relatively narrow, vertically elongated, substan- The indentations 43 on the ratchet'wheel 45 j the button'forwardly to its'rest or initial posiof the pawl 58 will be dragged over the periphery of tion, during which movement thenose the ratchet wheel to engage the next tooth thereof in readiness for the next actuation of the are so placed with relation to the contactor arms lined in a socket. 41 providedin the opposite of the"chamberjlkjsubstantially midwaybetween the diametrically aligned rounded heads 48, 48 of two contacts 49,"which project through the switch body 29.

As shown 'in. Figure 8 the'sha'nks tacts49'are formedwith'axial threaded bores 54 of .the con-f I' receiving binding postscrews 5| having wide fiatheads 52 for forcibly: confining-thereunder and in the cup's'53 on theiadjacent ends of the contacts 49, the wires '54.-which'are thereby electri- -.cally .connected to the switch i0.

The contact heads 48 extend sufiiciently by the arms '55'of the cruciform contactor 56- to turn therewith. The contactor arms"55, as'in- "dicated in Figure 5, are so'adisposed and proportwo diametrically aligned; arms "can be engaged with and electrically bridge the.

' contact heads 48 or be disengaged from the con- I tact heads-and.positionedtherebetween, as shown f infull and dotted lines in 5.. 5 The pushbut'ton 20 is equipped withpawl.

59 for. operatively engaging the teeth 50- of'the' ratchet wheel, in such. a way that each time the I from: the wali ofthe chamber lll to be fully contacted which is secured by screws or the like 51fto the adjacent sideofa dielectric or insulated disk 58 *forming-apart of the-ratchet-wheel and-flxe'd-- tooth on each 40- are caused to alternately engagejwith and dis- 1 pushbutton is pushed inwardly and released to be retumed to its initial or :rest p sition by the spring 39, the ratchet wheel is turned toward.

the right or' clockwise inFigure 2, a distance :of'

one tooth or one-eighth of arevqlution, enough in the situation shown in Figure fi, to remove" the contactor-arms engagedwith the contact 1 heads 48.to the position shown .in dotted lines, 3

corresponding to one of the "ofif positions of the switch. The following in-pushing of the. pushbutton will cause the next adjacent cone tactor arms to engage the contact heads 48, and;

the next such actuation will disengage them from the contact heads. -.In this way successive pushing in of thepushbutton 20 and release thereof will produce alternately the on and off" or "ofi and onpositions of the switch, according to the positionof the contactor arms 55 at the start ofthe actuation; oi the pushbu'tton.

The rearwardly and .-upward1y inclined ratchet pawl 59 has its f orwardpnd in a slot a formed in .the rear. end of the pushbutton 20 and seshafts extending from cured in a horizontal transversely extendingpivot templatedand "without departing 'fromthe spirit or scope'of the invention as hereinafter said switch 1 at right --said rotary contacton returnespring means. for

55 that. after each actuation of the ratchet wheel the same positively held in the position achieved until the'next actuation of the ratchet wheel.

Various. modiflcations andschanges are conmayobviously be resorted to,

ed by .theappended lclaim as my invention: a

i. A pushbutton switch wherein succeg gf ac;

tuation of the. pushbuttonproducesv alternate 'on and oiTor o and ion positions thereof, comprising aswitch bodyhaving apair of diametrically aligned contacts, an insulated'rotary contactor moun'ted'on said body v with its axis of rotationbetween-said contacts, saidcontactor comprising a plurality of pairs of diametrically aligned electrically connected arms arranged to bridge said contacts when engaged therewith, said rotary contactor having 'periph- I veral ratchet teeth;v a pushbutton-mounted on said switch body for reciprocation in aplane subangles to the rotary axis of returning said pushbutton at mam inoperative position when released fromj-a pushed-in operative position; eifective engagement with said ratchet teeth to 1 turn said contactor a distance 0f one ratchet reciprocationof said pushbutton,

and. a. ratchet pawl operable into whereby a, air of said diametrically aligned arms engage from said pair of vcontacts, a. peripheral portion of said rotary contactor being formed withcircumferentially spaced indentations corresponding in spacing to said pairs of contactor arms and the spacer between adjacent pairs of hold said rotary. contactor in the positions into which it is=operated by the actuation of said -pushbutton. 1

2. A switch comprising abody -of insulation. with a, bore leading from its front end 1 formed and a chamber at the inner end of the bore, a disk of insulation in said chamber having stub sides of the chamber, through a side portion of said body and having outer ends adapted for connection of conductor wires therewith and through a side wall of the chamber and spaced from opposite sides of the adjoining stub shaft, a movable contact consistingof a ring of conductive metal mounted against the confronting side face of said disk and having radially extending arms movable into and out of engagement with inner ends ,of the terminal contacts during step" by step rotation of 7.0-

the disk, a ratchet wheel carried by said disk at the opposite side thereof from the movable contact and having teeth about its periphery, certain of the teeth being opposite the arms of the movable contact and other teeth being located between the arms of the said movable contact, a pushbutton slidable longitudinally I v contactor arms, and spring pressed detent means non said body engageable in said indentations to opposite sides at it's center and rotatably mounted in sockets at opposite j terminal contacts mounted their inner ends exposed through said bore and having a pocket in its inner end, a pawl pivotally mounted in said pocket and projecting from the inner end of the button and yieldably held in engagement with'the teeth of said sprocket wheel for imparting turning movement to the disk when the pushbutton is shifted inwardly, and a spring urging the pushbutton forwardly to its normal position.

3. A switch comprising a body formed of iongitudinally extending sections secured together and having inner faces formed with registering recesses'defining a bore leading from the front end of the body and a chamber at the innerend of the bore, there being an annular pocket intermediate the length of the bore, a disk in said chamber rotatably mounted, terminal contacts mounted through one section of said body and having inner ends exposed through one side wall of the chamber and located in spaced relation to each other diametrically of the disk, screws threaded into the terminal contacts through outer ends thereof for connecting conductor wires with the said contacts, a movable contact mounted against the confronting side of said disk and having arms extending radially of the disk in position for moving into and out of engagement with the terminal contacts during step by step The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 497,756 Woltmann et a1; May 16, 1893 1,366,131 Packwood Jan. 18, 1921 1,656,627 Giebel Jan. 17, 1928 1,678,686 7 Winning July 13, 1928 1,781,970 Benjafleld Nov. 18., 1930 Hall Apr. 15, 1947 rotation of the disk, aratchet wheel carried by said disk and having teeth about its periphery, a bushbutton slidable longitudinally through said bore and having a collar fitting into the annular pocket for limiting sliding movement of the button, a pawl pivoted at the inner end of said button and extending into the chamber with its free end engaging the teeth of said ratchet wheel, a spring in said pocket engaging said collar and urging the button forwardly to an extended position, and a latch yieldably resisting turning movement of the disk. s

HAROLD C. MACNAMARA.

REFERENCES crran 

